Heretofore various techniques for pouring and forming steel ingots have been known. The prior art has particularly taught the bottom pouring or "teeming" method in which a stack of individual pouring shrouds or sleeves are positioned within a housing or "trumpet" and maintained upon a sprue plate communicating with the ingot molds. In the prior art, the traditional method of effecting the pouring operation has required the preliminary stacking and taping together of various sections of ceramic pouring sleeves to obtain the desired height for receipt by the trumpet or flumme. Once the stack of sleeves has been so assembled, generally on the order of ten feet in height, a crane is then used to lower the trumpet onto the stack of sleeves such that the stack is received by the trumpet. The use of an overhead crane is employed for this operation, it being understood that the trumpet, typically of cast iron, weighs on the order of seven tons.
The prior art technique and structure are characterized by inherent shortcomings. To begin with, the technique is extremely dangerous. Workers are required to manually guide the assembled stack while directing the seven-ton trumpet over it. This manual intervention continues as the trumpet is lowered over the stack. Typically, this lowering operation transcends some ten feet, the stack being comprised of ten to twelve sleeves, each being on the order of a foot in length.
The prior art technique also results in the costly loss of sleeves which occur when the trumpet strikes the stack, resulting in certain destruction of many of the sleeves. Following such an accident, time and labor are required to clean-up and reset the stack.
Further, by constructing the stack of a plurality of independent ceramic sleeves, the operation of the prior art is labor intensive. Accordingly, not only is the erection of the stack costly, but delays in the pouring operation are consequently experienced.
There has been found to be a need in the art for a technique and apparatus overcoming the shortcomings set forth above. Particularly, a need has arisen to eliminate the danger and inherent cost factors characteristic of the prior art technique and apparatus.